Kazakhstanis in the ranks of Resistance: Professor Gulnara Mendikulova from Satbayev University discovered the forgotten names of Kazakhstani heroes buried in France

New names of Kazakhstani soldiers who participated in the Second World War have been discovered. As part of the scientific expedition organized on the initiative of Kazakhstan’s Embassy and supported by Satbayev University leadership, professor Gulnara Mendikulova conducted extensive archival research, which resulted in the discovery of new graves and documents confirming the participation of our compatriots in Resistance movement in Europe during World War II.

During the trip, professor Mendikulova and her diplomats visited dozens of archives, cemeteries, and former prisoner-of-war camps in different parts of France. She collected unique testimonies about Kazakhstanis who fought against Nazism, including Bi-Muhammed Kurmantayev from Aktobe, who died in captivity in Normandy, and Sahib Tyulekov from Atyrau, who was buried in a mass grave at Stalag XII-F camp in Lorraine or known as Ban San Jean, where sergeant Francois Mitterrand was during the war, the future president of French Republic. According to German sources, more than 25,000 Soviet soldiers, including Kazakhstanis, were buried in the given camp alone.

Archival documents from Archives of French Ministry of Defense confirming the participation of a group of seven Kazakhstanis in the ranks of the French Resistance movement became a real scientific sensation. Among them were Boris Nazarov from Uralsk, who was awarded Medal of Free France and a diploma signed personally by General de Gaulle, Malzhan Nazarov, who was captured, escaped to the French Makizars and fought bravely in their ranks, as noted in the award documents, Peter Statsenko from Semipalatinsk, Ivan Protsenko, Vladimir Rogozhin and Serafim Samoilov from Almaty, Dmitry Stepanov from Petropavlovsk.

"Kazakhstani soldiers in the ranks of the Resistance movement are an indisputable proof of the struggle of our compatriots against fascism in France. Such studies allow us to fairly present Kazakhstan's contribution to the common Victory," Gulnara Malbagarovna said, presenting the results of her work to her French colleagues at "Kazakhs in World War II: new discoveries in France" round table organized by Kazakhstan’s |Embassy in Paris.

Gulnara Mendikulova has been writing for a long time about the participation of Kazakhstanis in the French Resistance to France. The stories of Kadem Zhumaniyazov, Akhmet Bektayev, Zunum Dzhamankulov and other Kazakhstani heroes were published in the 2-volume work "Kazakhs in the Second World War. New archival data", issued in the Satbayev University publishing house.

Memory is not only about the past, it is a responsibility towards the future. During the war, hundreds of thousands of Kazakhstanis went to the front, but the fate of many remains unknown. It is estimated that up to 600,000 soldiers are missing. Works like this expedition help to restore memory, restore justice and connect the broken threads of the destinies of our compatriots.

And in this silence of the mass graves, the main thing sounds: no one is forgotten! This is our common gift to the people of Kazakhstan in honor of 80^th anniversary of the Great Victory in World War II!